Yesterday, Jan. 22, was my 48th birthday!I had a great day – relaxed, reflective and
blessed.Blessed mostly by all the
wonderful birthday greetings I received via Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as
face-to-face, by phone and text.What a
delight that I had so many ways to receive wishes, encouragements and
notes.I determined that I would respond
to each greeting personally, which I didn’t have the time to completely do, but
was so moved.I am blessed with
friends.So for my friends, enjoy my
original story/folktale, “Why the Leaves Change Their Colors”, a story about
friendship below.

Thank you to friends,
both near and far; those I saw yesterday and those I haven’t seen for well over
10 years; those who I met when times were glorious and those who I met when I
was in pain; those who I have been constantly close and those who seem further
from my heart, but never lost; those who are my storytelling buddies, my
sisters and brothers in Christ, young folks who have allowed me to be a part of
their life, my family and my loves.Thank you, my FRIENDS.

Most interesting thing researched
this week?Philip Reid was an ex-slave who helped put
together the woman of freedom on top of the Capital Dome during the Lincoln
presidency.Cool!

The Weeping Willow, or, Why
the leaves change their colors

Once upon a time before the
dinosaurs ruled and people walked the earth, before cars and convenience
stores, the trees were always green.The
trees were always green and they were always happy. They ALL were happy….except the Weeping
Willow.

“Oh me, oh my, how I wish I could
turn colors.I could be red like a
cardinal, orange like a….like a….like an orange.I could be yellow like a daffodil and brown
like the ground.Oh me, oh my,” cried
Weeping Willow.

He took his request to the angel of
the trees, who in turn took Weeping Willow’s complaint to God.He knocked on God’s door and God answered,
“I’m open.”

The angel went in and told God
Weeping Willow was complaining.“Again?”
asked God.“Haven’t I given him enough?Isn’t this the same Weeping Willow who used
to be a little tree, but he wanted to be big, and I gave him that?”The angel nodded.“Is this the same Weeping Willow who used to
have his branches sticking straight out, but he wanted them bent to the grand,
and I gave him that.”Again, the angel
nodded.“So, what does he want NOW?”

“Well,” the angel hesitated, “He
wants his leaves to turn color.”

“Turn colors!?” boomed God.“Tell him no.”

The angel of the trees came back and
told God’s reply to Weeping Willow.The
Weeping Willow complained and grumbled some more.He whined all the day and most of the
night.He whined until finally Mr. Oak
had had enough.

“I’m tired of you complaining,
Willow,” Oak said, in his deep bass voice.“I and some of my friends are going to the other side of the land so we
don’t have to hear you.”So Mr. Oak and
his friends left for the other side of the land.

“Oh me, oh my,” whined Weeping
Willow.“My friend, Mr. Oak and his
friends are gone and I’ll miss them, but I’d be happy if I could only turn
colors.Red and orange and yellow and
brown.Oh me, oh my.”

Weeping Willow continued to cry all
day and even more of the night.Finally,
Ms. Sycamore had had enough.

“I cannot stand another day of you
grumbling and whining,” she told Weeping Willow.“I must leave now.”So Ms. Sycamore left with some of her friends
to the other side of the land.

“Oh me, oh my,” cried Weeping
Willow.“Now Ms. Sycamore has gone away,
but I’d be happy if I could only turn colors - red like a bow tie, orange like
a…like a….an orange, yellow like the sun, and brown like a lion’s fur.Oh me, oh my.”

And Weeping Willow whined and cried
all the day and all the night.He
complained and grumbled until all the trees left for the other land.Weeping Willow didn’t stop, and soon all the
bushes, the shrubs, the flowers and even all the animals left for the other
side of the land.When the dirt and
grass were just about to get up and go, the angel of the trees decided take
charge.Again he went to talk to God.

He knocked on God’s door and God answered, “I’m
open!” asked God.

“It’s Weeping Willow again,” said
the angel as he entered.

God put his head in his hands.“What now?”

“It’s still the colors.”

“What colors does he want to
be?Purple?Silver?Gold?”

“No, sir,” asserted the angel.“He’s very certain of his colors.He wants to turn red, orange, yellow, and
brown.”

Immediately the angel delivered
God’s reply to Weeping Willow who rejoiced greatly and, to the joy of grass and
dirt, ceased his complaining, grumbling, whining and crying.

The next morning Weeping Willow woke
and saw his leaves had turned red.“Oh,
looky, looky.My leaves have turned red
like the robin redbreast and apples and a big red balloon.”

Soon though, his leaves turned
orange.“Oh, don’t I look
beautiful.My leaves are orange like a…like
a…like an orange tree.Hmm, I wonder
what else is orange.Oh, yes, like a
pumpkin and a carrot.”

A little while later Weeping
Willow’s leaves turned yellow.“Ahh,” he
sighed.“This is wonderful.My leaves are yellow.Yellow like the shining sun and the daffodils
and dandelions.Oh, I love the yellow,
they make me shine.Uh, oh, something’s
happening … oh, goody, now I’m turning brown.Brown like the lion’s skin and the bear’s fur and my friend the dirt.”

But as Weeping Willow’s leaves
turned brown something began to happen to him.The Weeping Willow began to die.You
see, he didn’t realize that when he asked for his leaves to change colors, he
was also asking for his very lift to be taken.

Mr. Oak and Ms. Sycamore and all the
other trees, except Mr. Evergreen, heard that Weeping Willow was beginning to
die.They grieved and approached the
angel of the trees.

“We know,” said Mr. Oak, “that
Weeping Willow cried, groaned, complained and whined greatly and is probably getting
what he deserves, but we do not wish for him to die.”

The angel relayed their request to
God.God was so amazed by their love and
friendship for Weeping Willow, that He allowed them to turn colors.However, He promised, because of their
friendship and love, that in the spring they would live and become green again.

So that is why the leaves change
their colors.Oh, and Weeping Willow, he
never cried, grumbled, complained or whined again because he had the best wish
of all – FRIENDS!